365 Days of my Life: Things that Go!

Sorry for the delay in updating about our homeschooling adventures. I had EVERY intention of doing it last night. However, those intentions were side tracked by Carter slipping on our bathroom tile, landing on the back of his head, and crying so hysterically, he actually stopped breathing. But, he is perfectly fine, and other than some crankiness this morning, is back to his usual sunshine self. His little tumble also caused us to not be able to see the other half of the fab 4 last night, but it just gives us yet another reason to hang out this week. :)

The way I have designed our home school week, has me doing "school" with them Monday and Friday morning, and then Wednesday afternoon with the other half of the fab 4. Pierce really wants his friends to do school with him, so that is the compromise we have come up with. This past Wednesday, September 4, was our first lesson with all 4 of the boys together. I knew it would be different, since the fab 4 are used to only playing at our house, not doing school. However, it went much smoother than I was planning. I moved school outside, since nobody wanted to come inside, which created some challenges of the kiddos running away every now and then. But, it was very laid back, and all 4 liked doing their airplane crafts together. I had picked up foam shapes from Oriental Trading, and had them decorate pilot badges and airplanes. I then stuck some tape and a balloon on the airplanes, so the kids could manipulate them to make them move across the string. Pierce figured out that the best way to move it was with his head, while Carter decided to eat the balloon.

Friday was really the day that I was able to make some changes to how I do things. Instead of leaving music to the end, I started off our morning with some action rhymes that made sense with our boat and train theme of the day. That meant we did 5 variations of Row, Row, Your Boat, as well as another song that involved various body parts ( I cannot think of the name right now). The pattern of the second song was, "This is the way we pedal our bike, pedal our bike, pedal our bike. This is the way we pedal our bike, all through the town." We then did fly our plane, march a parade, drive a car, and row a boat. Doing the songs in the beginning not only starts us off on the right foot by getting wiggles out and having fun, but it also helps me get my worries out about whether I am going to teach them enough, etc.

We read 3 different books, and the boys REALLY loved Dinosaur Train. How do I know they loved Dinosaur Train? When I let them have open play with the blocks, train mat, and trains, they grabbed the mini dinosaurs that just came in for our unit in a few weeks, and put them on top of the trains and in the train cars. They have also asked to read the book a few more times since then. :) For our art project of the day, I had them make boats. I pre-cut the shapes, and gave them each a sail, a bottom, and a craft stick for the pole. I love that Pierce read my mind and told me the sail was a triangle. Then they both had a blast decorating with markers and glitter glue. Pierce made water that had a lot of different colors in it, since it was angry water like that in the book Little Boat. They really both enjoyed the project, and took their time doing it. Pierce also did his first color by number, and of course it was a train. He was so proud of his train and how it turned out. All I had to do was read to him what number was what color, and he did the rest. AND he colored IN the lines. That is something we have been really working on this summer, and it is finally sinking in. :)

After their craft was when they did their dramatic play with the trains and dinosaurs. Pierce also noticed that there was an airport on the train mat, so Carter got the little airplanes from Wednesday's lesson and put them in the airport. What a combination of time periods we had playing together on the mat. :) After three hours of "school" the boys were still not done. So, I set up the water table outside, and had them find objects that either sunk or floated. They had so much fun having the corks float, and even more fun figuring out which of their waterproof toys would sink or float. I had them guessing before they went in the water, so they also had to do the scientific aspect of it as well.

This upcoming week is all about fall fruits and vegetables. We already kicked the week off by trying to name all the different types of fruits and vegetables that were at the Bethlehem Fair. The boys could not believe how big the pumpkins were...and honestly, neither could I. :) I will certainly make a better attempt to update during the week, and to all have a great week coming up.